Online Switch Plus--Punching Above Its Weight

[writerstephen]

 

I liked the look of the Peacock Blue Online Switch Plus from the moment I saw it. It has a pleasing shape, and I like that blue color (most of my pens are blue). I found one in Medium on Amazon for $15 with Prime shipping, so I snapped it up.

 

I must say overall I'm quite pleased. The Switch Plus is a big pen, not just long but quite chunky. Uncapped it's about 5.5" long and posted it's almost 7". It has a triangular grip section not unlike the Lamy Al-Star and Safari, except the Online has an extra cutout for your thumb to rest on underneath. I must say I prefer a round grip section in most cases, but this one isn't too bad. As a lefty, those ergonomic grips can be hit or miss for me.

 

 

One thing I'd read and heard a lot about with respect to the Switch Plus was that it had a feedbacky nib. Not so in my case. My medium is quite smooth--at least as smooth as the smoothest Safari nib I've used, and I'd say it reminds me mostly of the nib on my Faber-Castell LOOM--which, if you've used one, you'll know is pretty high praise. I put Mont Blanc Royal Blue ink in, which to my mind is a moderately wet, well-behaved ink, and it flows very nicely and is quite pleasant to write with. On the end of the barrel the pen features a capacitive stylus point, which works just fine, but I find myself ignoring it. It's a feature I just don't need, as I use my fingertips to use my phone and iPad.

 

 

Aesthetically, the pen is good but not great. The color is very nice, and it If it were just a touch shorter and slimmer it would look a lot better in my opinion. It posts securely, but it's just too long to use while posted. That's too bad, because I prefer to post my caps while writing. These are both matters of personal preference, of course, and I know many people will like the dimensions just fine.

 

 

My only real gripe about the functionality of the pen is the filling system. My pen came with a converter pre-installed, a clear, shorter Monteverde type. But "installed" might be too kind a term, because there is NO way to seat ANY converter securely. It just rests on the pen's feed intake. I've found that screwing the barrel onto the section forces the converter (and, presumably, a long cartridge) to remain in place, and I haven't heard or felt it rattling around in there. But I know that when I remove the barrel to refill the ink, I'm going to have to be extra careful.

 

Again, overall, and especially for $15, this is an excellent pen. My largest concern when it comes to pens is how they write, and in that respect this pen acquits itself very well. While I don't necessarily love its dimensions, I know some will like them fine. If Online addresses the refill problem, they could really have a hit on their hands.

[MomoShinChan]

Well, the name is certainly interesting, that I can say with confidence. Have you contacted the sell about the converter? Maybe you have gotten one with defective connecting parts.